A Desire

I just got back from my second AA meeting in as many days,

And for the most part, both have been worthwhile and helpful for me. I even introduced myself today, proudly declared my seven days clean, and expressed my gratitude to the group and those who'd shared.

After the meeting, I was approached by an older gentleman with decades of sobriety. We chatted for the briefest minute before he started firing off questions about whether I had a sponsor, and asking me to tell him how I was going to stay sober. A mini-lecture on the necessity of a sponsor followed, and then he asked me what my drug of choice had been. I told him weed and Vicodin, and then was completely flabbergasted when he joked, “Oh, I have some Oxycodone; want some? Ha ha!”

Are you fucking kidding me?

I just finished saying I was brand-fucking-new to sobriety after having had a relapse!

I'm disgusted.

Not Julie.

Julie

Julie is a 40-something professional, married with a soon-to-be 10-year-old son. She has recently come to the realization that her decades-long Vicodin and marijuana use are keeping her from living the life she could be living.

In her own words, "I'm ready to live differently, and I think I'm already starting, even though I haven't stopped yet."